Current:Home > FinanceGabby Petito Pleads With Brian Laundrie in Gut-Wrenching Letter Released by FBI -ChatGPT
Gabby Petito Pleads With Brian Laundrie in Gut-Wrenching Letter Released by FBI
View
Date:2025-04-15 22:37:00
Another heartbreaking detail of the Gabby Petito case has been revealed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released more than 350 new documents related to the 2021 murder of the 22-year-old June 11 including a letter she wrote to her boyfriend Brian Laundrie, who later confessed to killing her in a note before taking his own life.
In the undated handwritten letter, viewed by E! News, Petito apologizes to Laundrie for getting "upset over a dumb piece of paper" and pleads with him.
"Just please stop crying and stop calling me names because we're a team and I'm here with you," Petito wrote. "Yes, I can be a child sometimes I know, but it's ‘cause you give me this energy and I just love you too much. Like so much it hurts."
And the late influencer continues to implore her boyfriend over the course of the page-long letter.
"So you in pain is killing me," she continued. "I'm not trying to be negative, but I'm frustrated there's not more I can do."
Among other journal entries, the newly-released FBI evidence includes photos of Petito and Laundrie's possessions, as well as other federal documents concerning the case and evidence.
Petito's case garnered national media attention after Laundrie, 23, returned to their Florida residence from a cross-country road trip alone in early September 2021 and her parents subsequently reported her as missing.
The aspiring lifestyle vlogger, who had documented the couple's van trip on YouTube and Instagram, was found dead in a remote area in a Wyoming national park 18 days later. Her death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.
Amid the search for Petito, Laundrie, who was named person of interest in the case, disappeared. The 23-year-old's remains were found weeks later in a Florida park alongside a notebook nearby that confessed to Petito's murder.
In the years since Petito's death, her mom Nichole Schmidt, has shared insight into her grief journey, including expressing forgiveness to her daughter's killer.
"I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you," Schmidt said at CrimeCon 2024 May 31. "I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, and I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life."
However, the New York native also offered a scathing rebuke toward his mother, Roberta Laundrie. Following Petito's death, her family had accused the Laundrie family of trying to help their son cover up Petito's murder in a since-settled civil lawsuit. Roberta, and her husband Christopher Laundrie denied this claim.
"As for you, Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways," Schmidt added. "I see no empathy in your eyes."
For more information on domestic abuse or to get help for yourself or someone you love, visit the website for The National Domestic Violence Hotline (http://www.thehotline.org/) or call 1-800-799-7233.veryGood! (2)
Related
- What to watch: O Jolie night
- At Davos, the Greta-Donald Dust-Up Was Hardly a Fair Fight
- Trump delivered defiant speech after indictment hearing. Here's what he said.
- Chrysler recalls 330,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees because rear coil spring may detach
- Jorge Ramos reveals his final day with 'Noticiero Univision': 'It's been quite a ride'
- Videos like the Tyre Nichols footage can be traumatic. An expert shares ways to cope
- Hollywood Foreign Press Association Awards $1 Million Grant to InsideClimate News
- A Longchamp Resurgence Is Upon Us: Shop the Iconic Le Pliage Tote Bags Without Paying Full Price
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Job Boom in Michigan, as Clean Energy Manufacturing Drives Economic Recovery
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- The FDA proposes new targets to limit lead in baby food
- Biden officials declined to offer legal status to hundreds of thousands of migrants amid border concerns
- The Nipah virus has a kill rate of 70%. Bats carry it. But how does it jump to humans?
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Government Shutdown Raises Fears of Scientific Data Loss, Climate Research Delays
- 6.8 million expected to lose Medicaid when paperwork hurdles return
- New York City’s Solar Landfill Plan Finds Eager Energy Developers
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Standing Rock Tribe Prepares Legal Fight as Dakota Oil Pipeline Gets Final Approval
Anne Heche Laid to Rest 9 Months After Fatal Car Crash
Wegovy works. But here's what happens if you can't afford to keep taking the drug
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
Members of the public explain why they waited for hours to see Trump arraigned: This is historic
Why Olivia Wilde Wore a White Wedding Dress to Colton Underwood and Jordan C. Brown's Nuptials
UN Proposes Protecting 30% of Earth to Slow Extinctions and Climate Change